Lunch time ponderings

I stood in the lunchroom for about an hour and a half today and watched my students interact with each other as only they can.  The conversations were silly, spirited, and serious; all going on at the same time.  Lunch time is when kids can be kids.  That was my post on our Twitter account (@Tyngsmiddle) and it made once again made me realize that in this somewhat structured setting (the lunchroom) that students are themselves.

We spend so much time in schools controlling time, resources and movement that we stifle what comes naturally to middle school students; the desire to interact.  Students are at their best when they are interacting with each other.  They are inquisitive, challenging and engaged when given the opportunity to be with each other in a social setting.  The need for a positive and social classroom is essential to get the most out of our students.  I am not suggesting a "lunchroom" setting for your classroom (but healthy food is always a good thing, even in a classroom) but rather a setting where we release a little control and let the students be more like themselves.

For some further support to this idea I looked to some scholarly work and this caught my eye (by Katelyn Wendel:
https://prezi.com/fb-4gbyahpyd/importance-of-classroom-social-environment/